A/N I want to thank everyone who reviewed. I want you all to know that I totally take your suggestions to heart. Like on reviewer said/begged not to make Zoe evil, so she won't be...too much. And someone else suggested to have Peter slowly progress into a spineless jerk. So I will, slowly. So if anyone has suggestions know that I take it seriously.
I would like to send a special thanks to reviewer faith who reviewed like a billion times (not really but it seemed like it).
I was also thinking about making this a chapter about the parents, but decided to make that the next chapter. So chapter 7 or 8 will be Meet the Parents...maybe. And now on with the chapter 6, not much happens here granted, but thickens the plot a bit.
Chapter 6: Out with the Old, In with the New
Lily was sitting in Arithmancy, trying to figure out a particularly hard problem when she heard someone hiss her name. She looked up and stared blankly at the girl who called her.
"What do you want, Hannah?" she asked coldly. Hannah seemed to ignore this and went ahead whispering so the Professor wouldn't hear her.
"I saw you and James at the Quidditch game yesterday."
"So?" asked an annoyed Lily. The math problem was getting on her last nerve and the number charts just seemed to get more complicated.
"AND I saw you guys at the Tower and I heard Carl say that he saw you two at the Underground," she said the last thing as if it was something incredible, like the landing of a man on the moon. Lily put her quill down and stared hard at Hannah. Hannah seemed to realize what Lily wanted so she asked, "Well, I just wanted to know...are you and James an item?" Lily just gave her a mischievous smile and went back to work, but not before hearing a squeal from her right and a breathless, "I knew it!"
*~~*~~*
James was climbing down the stairs ready to go down to lunch and hang out with his friends for awhile. He hadn't been with them for what seemed like an eternity and he missed talking and joking and pulling pranks with them. His new 'friends' just weren't the same. He saw them a little ways down and hurried down to meet them.
"My brothers!" he shouted throwing his arms around Sirius and Remus.
"Hey look! It's Ken doll," said Peter. The three of them looked at Peter and he explained that it was a muggle doll that was always at the height of fashion and always had an expression that said, "I'm ten times better than you are." (A/N Just look at him, I swear that that's what's in his eyes)
"Aren't you losing reputation points for being this close to us?" asked Sirius.
"Guys! I'm puling off the biggest scam of all time and I'm catching shit?" asked James. "Don't you see, I've entered into their world."
"Oooh did you leave breadcrumbs?" asked Peter sarcastically.
"Hey, don't forget, we have to pull that prank on Filch on Saturday," Remus reminded James.
"Yeah, I'll be there...no wait Lily wanted me to make an appearance..."
"Ahh scam alright, but whose scamming who?" asked Sirius.
"Whom," corrected James.
"Oooo whom," mimicked Peter as Remus said, "Think about it James you have the duties of a girlfriend, but none of the perks."
"Your not getting any perks are you?" asked Sirius suddenly.
"Hey J-man, you coming this Saturday or what?" asked Bryan coming down the hallway with his arms around Arabella.
"Yeah, I'll be there," said James.
"'J-man'?" asked Sirius as Bryan left, "you really have entered their world." And with that they left James and headed to the Great Hall.
*~~*~~*
At the end of lunch that Saturday Lily hurried down the hallway, looking for James. She hadn't seen him at lunch and she was worried that he didn't remember that he was supposed to meet with some of the popular guys. She spotted his friends doing something very suspicious near a broom closet, but no James in sight. On closer inspection Lily saw that they were cursing all of Filch's cleaning supplies to make a mess instead of cleaning it up.
"This is going to drive him insane," whispered Sirius.
"Shouldn't we at least leave some mops and brooms alone for him?" asked Peter.
"Of course, we are Peter," said Remus throwing his arm around his shoulders.
"Yeah, we left the broom closet near the Bloody Baron's lair alone," said Sirius dusting off his robes.
"We decided to be nice for a change," said Remus with a smirk.
"And because you guys are too afraid to go anywhere near that place," said Lily causing all three guys to jump up in the air.
"Peter!" Sirius shouted, "you were supposed to stand guard."
"Stand guard! You told me to keep the brooms in the back from falling on you! You were supposed to be the look out!"
"No I wasn't, I was supposed hex the broom to make them streak green and blue across the floor," shouted an indignant Sirius. "Remus was supposed to hold the brooms."
"I was supposed to hex all the cleaning solutions to smear the dirt even more, not hold the brooms," glared Remus. Then all three of them heaved a heavy sigh. It wasn't the same without James. He was the brains of the operation. Remus turned to Lily.
"Can we help you?" Lily was surprised by his cold manner and she noticed Peter and Sirius giving her a weird look.
"I was just looking for James," she said, looking at the ground, suddenly feeling small.
"James isn't here, as you can see," said Sirius stiffly.
"Do you know where he is?"
"Why don't you go check outside by the Quidditch pitch," said Peter finally and all three of them turned around and left her. Suddenly they lost interest in their prank and Lily felt alone. 'Why should I care?' she thought. 'They were James' friends, not mine.' And with that she headed towards the Main Entrance.
*~~*~~*
James was sitting on the stands of the Qudditch pitch just listening to the guys of the Gryfindor Quidditch team and Founders' Day Ball committee and other school organizations that were filled to the brim with popular people. He didn't even know why he was here. He was supposed to meet up with Remus, Sirius, and Peter about some prank they had cooked up but on his way Bryan and Arthur had dragged him to the stands and he remembered his promise to Lily. So here he was silently observing everyone. For example, he kept noticing a guy named Richard kept sneaking glances the Gryfindor seeker. 'He's gay,' he thought wearily. He also noticed how Arthur was joking with everyone, but once they started to make fun of someone, his laughter didn't reach his eyes. 'He's pretty cool.' But what totally ticked him off was Bryan. He was a cool guy and all, but he had this possessive nature that was a bit scary. He also thought of himself as God's Gift to Women. He was telling everyone how to get to a girl.
"The way to a girl's heart is by sweet talk," he started, "'Your so beautiful', 'Have you lost weight?' and then the three words that always seal the deal..."
"Another Tequila shot?" interrupted James dryly. Everyone but Bryan roared with laughter. Just then they heard a bunch of voices. They looked down and saw the girls of the Quidditch team and the Founder's Day Ball committee and other school organizations that were filled to the brim with popular people. (A/N Did I just repeat myself?) They all waved at the guys and Lily smiled at James. James nodded back, trying to ignore the fluttering feeling in his stomach upon seeing Lily.
The girls all sat down and started talking about...boys.
"What do you think their talking about, Bryan?" asked Cleff, Head of the Decorations Committee.
"They're talking about us," he said sagely.
"What are they saying?" asked Arthur, just to humor him.
"Oh you know, 'He's cute, he's sweet, he's built.'"
*~~*~~*
"He's clingy," said Arabella.
"Clingy?" asked Diane co-Head of the Decorations committee.
"Yeah, wherever I am, he has to be there. If I'm doing my homework, he's breathing down my neck. Sometimes I swear he's sitting next me, watching me sleep."
"Aww, that's so romantic," sighed Molly.
"Romantic?! Molly that's creepy!" exclaimed Lily.
"Tell me about it," she sighed. "By the way Zoe, when is that picture gonna hit circulation?" asked Bella wanting the conversation to be off of her. But Zoe was away in space somewhere, staring down towards the Whomping Willow. She could have sworn she saw...
"Hello! Earth the Zoe!" Lily waved her hand energetically in front of her face, promptly interrupting her musings.
"Huh? What?" she asked blinking quickly.
"Those pictures...of Remus...when are you gonna go public with them?" asked Molly.
"Oh! I'm not sure if I'm going to," she said quickly.
"Why?!" all the girls shouted, making the guys stare down at them.
"Because, although I hate to admit it, he and his grungy friends have enough power to ruin someone's reputation."
"No, I think I know the reason," said Lily with a knowing smile. All the girls looked at Lily and they suddenly knew what she meant.
"What? You don't think? Ugh! No way! Uh-uh..that's not the reason! I don't like Remus, you guys no how much I hate him," Zoe sputtered, angry that her friends would think that.
"Then why won't you pass out the pictures?" asked Bella.
"Fine! I will!" cried Zoe standing up, "I have work to do if I'm going to have enough pictures for the whole school by 6. Plus, I have to make it so the picture doesn't move at all, like a muggle picture," and with that she left with a huff. The girls started to giggle, and when that died down, Molly turned to Lily.
"Come on Lily, we're bonding here so tell us.."
"Tell you what?"
"James Potter...big hands...big feet... and you two have been spending a hell of a lot of time together...come on," pushed Bella. Lily stared at them and just laughed letting them form their own ideas about her and James, while wondering herself what was going on.
*~~*~~*
After dinner, Lily sat down by the lake trying to think of some sorts of entertainment for the Ball. Everyone wanted and expected pop sensation Pandora, or a replica of her, but something was bugging her. Before she would have done everything in her power to please everyone in the school, but now...she wasn't sure or wasn't sure she cared. And there was a song stuck in her head and she couldn't figure it out and it was annoying her to no end, but she hummed it anyway.
"I see you got the Weird Sisters stuck in your head," said a voice behind her. She looked up quickly and saw Remus.
"Is that who it was?" she asked as Remus sat down next to her. She was surprised he was actually willing to talk to her.
"Yup, one of their best songs," he said. "Look, Lily I'm sorry about the way I've— we've —benn treating you lately. It's just hard not seeing one of your best friends as much as you would usually do. And seeing him with people you've learned to hate...its the worst."
"It's okay," she smiled, for some reason happy to have them on her side again.
"Okay! With that out of the way.."he started to search his pocket for something and pulled out a picture.
"If that's the picture of you making kissy faces, then I've seen it," said Lily with a smile.
"No, I've seen enough of that picture to last me a life time, thank you very much," he said as he handed Lily a picture. It was a picture of a group of witches with an assortment of instruments around them. Their hair was everywhere and their black robes ripped in specific places. For some reason these witches looked...cool, yet familiar. Before Lily would have thrown the picture as if it was something contaminated, but now she was oddly intrigued.
"Who are they?" she asked.
"The Weird Sisters," he said and when she looked at him puzzled he quickly added, "Well, you're head of the Entertainment Committee, aren't you?"
"Yeah, along with other things," she said with a bitter smile.
"Well, I want you to check them out," he said.
"Is this why you apologized?" she asked suddenly suspicious. One look at his face had said enough and she suddenly felt stupid and ashamed for accusing him of something so stupid.
"I've already heard them," she said quickly to cover up the awkward silence.
"And...." he pushed, forgetting about Lily's previous question.
"They're great and all, but they're not up on their Pandora."
"Pandora?" asked Remus, "There's a sister with edge," he said sarcastically.
"Well, that's the direction the committee is heading: Quality with mass appeal."
"Can you say oxymoron?"
They both looked down at the picture and Remus suddenly asked, "Is Zoe allergic to anything else besides garlic?"
*~~*~~*
Zoe was walking down the hallway enjoying the quiet halls that came along with a Saturday afternoon. Just as she was turning a corner she saw Hannah emerge from an empty classroom with Barty right behind her. 'Lily's plan is taking too long,' she thought. 'Time for some much needed help,' she smiled wickedly.
"Hey Hannah!" she shouted. Hannah spun around and saw Zoe.
"Hi Zoe!" she said happily. Zoe thought she was just a tad to perky, but giving what she had probably been doing 5 minutes ago...
"I wanted a word with you...alone," she added pointedly to Barty.
"I'll see ya later Han," he said and kissed her on the cheek and left. When he was out of earshot Zoe said, "How well do you know Barty?"
"Real well, he's so nice and sweet and caring,"she said dreamily.
"Yeah and with a father like his...they look totally normal...you'd never believe how its really like," said Zoe dramatically.
"What do you mean?" asked Hannah frightened.
"You'd never guess that Barty Crouch Jr., was part of those Dark Wizard gangs going around lately."
"D-d-dark Wizard gang?" she asked in a small, stuttering voice.
"Yup! I heard he was one of the Death Eaters," said Zoe in such a firm voice that you had to believe her. "Well, I gotta go. Say 'Hi!' to Barty for me," and with that Zoe left leaving a stunned and scared looking Hannah behind.
*~~*~~*
James was running down the hallway looking for something. The only problem was he had no idea what he was looking for. It was a new charm that Remus had found and he decided to try it out on James, before they tried it on Filch's cat, and as a payback for James for the messed up prank. It caused a person to be extremely confused about where they were going, but they seemed to remember everything else. He was running when he suddenly came face to face with Arabella Figg.
"Hey Newt," he said politely.
"It's Bella," she said huffily, "It was never Newt."
"Oh sorry, but I thought.."
"When your extremely short and skinny for your age and you have a last name that's the same as snack food, it doesn't take people long to think up of a nickname," she said looking James straight in the eye. She never had anything against James, he was always polite to people and never cared about how they looked or dressed.
"Newt, newt," said James thoughtfully, "Like Fig Newton?"
"You got it," she said bitterly.
"So what happened?"
"Well I went home one summer, gained some weight, my body was finally filling in, got contacts and just started giggling at whatever anyone said. Soon people were asking who I was and I just told them that I was Bella," she smiled though it seemed to be forced.
"Bella..isn't that 'beautiful' in Italian?" asked James.
"Yup!" said Bella happily.
"And no one ever said anything?" Bella shook her head. "You should go into politics," laughed James. "Why are you telling me all this?" he asked suddenly.
"Because we're kindred spirits," she said eyeing James' hair and clothes, "Are you happy now? Now that you're one of the popular crowd?" James looked down at his hands. Being popular had its ups, but he liked the old days with his friends. True they still did pranks but he saw less and less of them everyday. It was like he was drifting apart from his old friends and coming closer to his new ones. Was he truly happy?
A/N There you go. Another chapter. Now I rarely ask for reviews, but I completely didn't like this chapter. Something about it was off. I had to write and rewrite and copy and paste and delete and all kinds of things. So just review with a quick 'it sux' or 'it was great'. Thanks a billion!
I would like to send a special thanks to reviewer faith who reviewed like a billion times (not really but it seemed like it).
I was also thinking about making this a chapter about the parents, but decided to make that the next chapter. So chapter 7 or 8 will be Meet the Parents...maybe. And now on with the chapter 6, not much happens here granted, but thickens the plot a bit.
Chapter 6: Out with the Old, In with the New
Lily was sitting in Arithmancy, trying to figure out a particularly hard problem when she heard someone hiss her name. She looked up and stared blankly at the girl who called her.
"What do you want, Hannah?" she asked coldly. Hannah seemed to ignore this and went ahead whispering so the Professor wouldn't hear her.
"I saw you and James at the Quidditch game yesterday."
"So?" asked an annoyed Lily. The math problem was getting on her last nerve and the number charts just seemed to get more complicated.
"AND I saw you guys at the Tower and I heard Carl say that he saw you two at the Underground," she said the last thing as if it was something incredible, like the landing of a man on the moon. Lily put her quill down and stared hard at Hannah. Hannah seemed to realize what Lily wanted so she asked, "Well, I just wanted to know...are you and James an item?" Lily just gave her a mischievous smile and went back to work, but not before hearing a squeal from her right and a breathless, "I knew it!"
*~~*~~*
James was climbing down the stairs ready to go down to lunch and hang out with his friends for awhile. He hadn't been with them for what seemed like an eternity and he missed talking and joking and pulling pranks with them. His new 'friends' just weren't the same. He saw them a little ways down and hurried down to meet them.
"My brothers!" he shouted throwing his arms around Sirius and Remus.
"Hey look! It's Ken doll," said Peter. The three of them looked at Peter and he explained that it was a muggle doll that was always at the height of fashion and always had an expression that said, "I'm ten times better than you are." (A/N Just look at him, I swear that that's what's in his eyes)
"Aren't you losing reputation points for being this close to us?" asked Sirius.
"Guys! I'm puling off the biggest scam of all time and I'm catching shit?" asked James. "Don't you see, I've entered into their world."
"Oooh did you leave breadcrumbs?" asked Peter sarcastically.
"Hey, don't forget, we have to pull that prank on Filch on Saturday," Remus reminded James.
"Yeah, I'll be there...no wait Lily wanted me to make an appearance..."
"Ahh scam alright, but whose scamming who?" asked Sirius.
"Whom," corrected James.
"Oooo whom," mimicked Peter as Remus said, "Think about it James you have the duties of a girlfriend, but none of the perks."
"Your not getting any perks are you?" asked Sirius suddenly.
"Hey J-man, you coming this Saturday or what?" asked Bryan coming down the hallway with his arms around Arabella.
"Yeah, I'll be there," said James.
"'J-man'?" asked Sirius as Bryan left, "you really have entered their world." And with that they left James and headed to the Great Hall.
*~~*~~*
At the end of lunch that Saturday Lily hurried down the hallway, looking for James. She hadn't seen him at lunch and she was worried that he didn't remember that he was supposed to meet with some of the popular guys. She spotted his friends doing something very suspicious near a broom closet, but no James in sight. On closer inspection Lily saw that they were cursing all of Filch's cleaning supplies to make a mess instead of cleaning it up.
"This is going to drive him insane," whispered Sirius.
"Shouldn't we at least leave some mops and brooms alone for him?" asked Peter.
"Of course, we are Peter," said Remus throwing his arm around his shoulders.
"Yeah, we left the broom closet near the Bloody Baron's lair alone," said Sirius dusting off his robes.
"We decided to be nice for a change," said Remus with a smirk.
"And because you guys are too afraid to go anywhere near that place," said Lily causing all three guys to jump up in the air.
"Peter!" Sirius shouted, "you were supposed to stand guard."
"Stand guard! You told me to keep the brooms in the back from falling on you! You were supposed to be the look out!"
"No I wasn't, I was supposed hex the broom to make them streak green and blue across the floor," shouted an indignant Sirius. "Remus was supposed to hold the brooms."
"I was supposed to hex all the cleaning solutions to smear the dirt even more, not hold the brooms," glared Remus. Then all three of them heaved a heavy sigh. It wasn't the same without James. He was the brains of the operation. Remus turned to Lily.
"Can we help you?" Lily was surprised by his cold manner and she noticed Peter and Sirius giving her a weird look.
"I was just looking for James," she said, looking at the ground, suddenly feeling small.
"James isn't here, as you can see," said Sirius stiffly.
"Do you know where he is?"
"Why don't you go check outside by the Quidditch pitch," said Peter finally and all three of them turned around and left her. Suddenly they lost interest in their prank and Lily felt alone. 'Why should I care?' she thought. 'They were James' friends, not mine.' And with that she headed towards the Main Entrance.
*~~*~~*
James was sitting on the stands of the Qudditch pitch just listening to the guys of the Gryfindor Quidditch team and Founders' Day Ball committee and other school organizations that were filled to the brim with popular people. He didn't even know why he was here. He was supposed to meet up with Remus, Sirius, and Peter about some prank they had cooked up but on his way Bryan and Arthur had dragged him to the stands and he remembered his promise to Lily. So here he was silently observing everyone. For example, he kept noticing a guy named Richard kept sneaking glances the Gryfindor seeker. 'He's gay,' he thought wearily. He also noticed how Arthur was joking with everyone, but once they started to make fun of someone, his laughter didn't reach his eyes. 'He's pretty cool.' But what totally ticked him off was Bryan. He was a cool guy and all, but he had this possessive nature that was a bit scary. He also thought of himself as God's Gift to Women. He was telling everyone how to get to a girl.
"The way to a girl's heart is by sweet talk," he started, "'Your so beautiful', 'Have you lost weight?' and then the three words that always seal the deal..."
"Another Tequila shot?" interrupted James dryly. Everyone but Bryan roared with laughter. Just then they heard a bunch of voices. They looked down and saw the girls of the Quidditch team and the Founder's Day Ball committee and other school organizations that were filled to the brim with popular people. (A/N Did I just repeat myself?) They all waved at the guys and Lily smiled at James. James nodded back, trying to ignore the fluttering feeling in his stomach upon seeing Lily.
The girls all sat down and started talking about...boys.
"What do you think their talking about, Bryan?" asked Cleff, Head of the Decorations Committee.
"They're talking about us," he said sagely.
"What are they saying?" asked Arthur, just to humor him.
"Oh you know, 'He's cute, he's sweet, he's built.'"
*~~*~~*
"He's clingy," said Arabella.
"Clingy?" asked Diane co-Head of the Decorations committee.
"Yeah, wherever I am, he has to be there. If I'm doing my homework, he's breathing down my neck. Sometimes I swear he's sitting next me, watching me sleep."
"Aww, that's so romantic," sighed Molly.
"Romantic?! Molly that's creepy!" exclaimed Lily.
"Tell me about it," she sighed. "By the way Zoe, when is that picture gonna hit circulation?" asked Bella wanting the conversation to be off of her. But Zoe was away in space somewhere, staring down towards the Whomping Willow. She could have sworn she saw...
"Hello! Earth the Zoe!" Lily waved her hand energetically in front of her face, promptly interrupting her musings.
"Huh? What?" she asked blinking quickly.
"Those pictures...of Remus...when are you gonna go public with them?" asked Molly.
"Oh! I'm not sure if I'm going to," she said quickly.
"Why?!" all the girls shouted, making the guys stare down at them.
"Because, although I hate to admit it, he and his grungy friends have enough power to ruin someone's reputation."
"No, I think I know the reason," said Lily with a knowing smile. All the girls looked at Lily and they suddenly knew what she meant.
"What? You don't think? Ugh! No way! Uh-uh..that's not the reason! I don't like Remus, you guys no how much I hate him," Zoe sputtered, angry that her friends would think that.
"Then why won't you pass out the pictures?" asked Bella.
"Fine! I will!" cried Zoe standing up, "I have work to do if I'm going to have enough pictures for the whole school by 6. Plus, I have to make it so the picture doesn't move at all, like a muggle picture," and with that she left with a huff. The girls started to giggle, and when that died down, Molly turned to Lily.
"Come on Lily, we're bonding here so tell us.."
"Tell you what?"
"James Potter...big hands...big feet... and you two have been spending a hell of a lot of time together...come on," pushed Bella. Lily stared at them and just laughed letting them form their own ideas about her and James, while wondering herself what was going on.
*~~*~~*
After dinner, Lily sat down by the lake trying to think of some sorts of entertainment for the Ball. Everyone wanted and expected pop sensation Pandora, or a replica of her, but something was bugging her. Before she would have done everything in her power to please everyone in the school, but now...she wasn't sure or wasn't sure she cared. And there was a song stuck in her head and she couldn't figure it out and it was annoying her to no end, but she hummed it anyway.
"I see you got the Weird Sisters stuck in your head," said a voice behind her. She looked up quickly and saw Remus.
"Is that who it was?" she asked as Remus sat down next to her. She was surprised he was actually willing to talk to her.
"Yup, one of their best songs," he said. "Look, Lily I'm sorry about the way I've— we've —benn treating you lately. It's just hard not seeing one of your best friends as much as you would usually do. And seeing him with people you've learned to hate...its the worst."
"It's okay," she smiled, for some reason happy to have them on her side again.
"Okay! With that out of the way.."he started to search his pocket for something and pulled out a picture.
"If that's the picture of you making kissy faces, then I've seen it," said Lily with a smile.
"No, I've seen enough of that picture to last me a life time, thank you very much," he said as he handed Lily a picture. It was a picture of a group of witches with an assortment of instruments around them. Their hair was everywhere and their black robes ripped in specific places. For some reason these witches looked...cool, yet familiar. Before Lily would have thrown the picture as if it was something contaminated, but now she was oddly intrigued.
"Who are they?" she asked.
"The Weird Sisters," he said and when she looked at him puzzled he quickly added, "Well, you're head of the Entertainment Committee, aren't you?"
"Yeah, along with other things," she said with a bitter smile.
"Well, I want you to check them out," he said.
"Is this why you apologized?" she asked suddenly suspicious. One look at his face had said enough and she suddenly felt stupid and ashamed for accusing him of something so stupid.
"I've already heard them," she said quickly to cover up the awkward silence.
"And...." he pushed, forgetting about Lily's previous question.
"They're great and all, but they're not up on their Pandora."
"Pandora?" asked Remus, "There's a sister with edge," he said sarcastically.
"Well, that's the direction the committee is heading: Quality with mass appeal."
"Can you say oxymoron?"
They both looked down at the picture and Remus suddenly asked, "Is Zoe allergic to anything else besides garlic?"
*~~*~~*
Zoe was walking down the hallway enjoying the quiet halls that came along with a Saturday afternoon. Just as she was turning a corner she saw Hannah emerge from an empty classroom with Barty right behind her. 'Lily's plan is taking too long,' she thought. 'Time for some much needed help,' she smiled wickedly.
"Hey Hannah!" she shouted. Hannah spun around and saw Zoe.
"Hi Zoe!" she said happily. Zoe thought she was just a tad to perky, but giving what she had probably been doing 5 minutes ago...
"I wanted a word with you...alone," she added pointedly to Barty.
"I'll see ya later Han," he said and kissed her on the cheek and left. When he was out of earshot Zoe said, "How well do you know Barty?"
"Real well, he's so nice and sweet and caring,"she said dreamily.
"Yeah and with a father like his...they look totally normal...you'd never believe how its really like," said Zoe dramatically.
"What do you mean?" asked Hannah frightened.
"You'd never guess that Barty Crouch Jr., was part of those Dark Wizard gangs going around lately."
"D-d-dark Wizard gang?" she asked in a small, stuttering voice.
"Yup! I heard he was one of the Death Eaters," said Zoe in such a firm voice that you had to believe her. "Well, I gotta go. Say 'Hi!' to Barty for me," and with that Zoe left leaving a stunned and scared looking Hannah behind.
*~~*~~*
James was running down the hallway looking for something. The only problem was he had no idea what he was looking for. It was a new charm that Remus had found and he decided to try it out on James, before they tried it on Filch's cat, and as a payback for James for the messed up prank. It caused a person to be extremely confused about where they were going, but they seemed to remember everything else. He was running when he suddenly came face to face with Arabella Figg.
"Hey Newt," he said politely.
"It's Bella," she said huffily, "It was never Newt."
"Oh sorry, but I thought.."
"When your extremely short and skinny for your age and you have a last name that's the same as snack food, it doesn't take people long to think up of a nickname," she said looking James straight in the eye. She never had anything against James, he was always polite to people and never cared about how they looked or dressed.
"Newt, newt," said James thoughtfully, "Like Fig Newton?"
"You got it," she said bitterly.
"So what happened?"
"Well I went home one summer, gained some weight, my body was finally filling in, got contacts and just started giggling at whatever anyone said. Soon people were asking who I was and I just told them that I was Bella," she smiled though it seemed to be forced.
"Bella..isn't that 'beautiful' in Italian?" asked James.
"Yup!" said Bella happily.
"And no one ever said anything?" Bella shook her head. "You should go into politics," laughed James. "Why are you telling me all this?" he asked suddenly.
"Because we're kindred spirits," she said eyeing James' hair and clothes, "Are you happy now? Now that you're one of the popular crowd?" James looked down at his hands. Being popular had its ups, but he liked the old days with his friends. True they still did pranks but he saw less and less of them everyday. It was like he was drifting apart from his old friends and coming closer to his new ones. Was he truly happy?
A/N There you go. Another chapter. Now I rarely ask for reviews, but I completely didn't like this chapter. Something about it was off. I had to write and rewrite and copy and paste and delete and all kinds of things. So just review with a quick 'it sux' or 'it was great'. Thanks a billion!